It’s Anmore Manor’s last scare.
The nondescript suburban home occupied by millwright Ken Honigman and his partner, Lilija, is being transformed into a frightening tableaux of haunting scenes loosely based on H.G. Wells’ novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, for a final time.
Honigman is going pro.
His Halloween passion project that occupies months of his spare time and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the SHARE Society food bank over the years has led to his involvement as the art director with a new initiative, the Dreadworks haunted house at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. It opened Sept. 27 and runs five nights a week through Nov. 3.
That’s left less time for Honigman and Lilija to work on Anmore Manor, which started 13 years ago as a few elaborate decorations for a Halloween party then quickly evolved into the top rated haunted house in the country as determined by the Canadian Haunters Association in 2022.
“People saw how much we decorate inside the house and it just got bigger and bigger with more details,” said Lilija.
Over the years, Honigman and Lilija have bolstered their demonic decorating by attending conventions of haunted house enthusiasts called Hauntcons to glean further ideas and tricks of the trade like building animatronics.
Most of the components for the ruinous rooms are homemade, using props and materials acquired through connections in the film industry as well as estate sales. Some of the scenes are brought to life by a cast of amateur actors, many of whom serve with Honigman in Anmore’s volunteer fire department.
“So many volunteers help out for the love of the scare,” said Lilija.
Not content to skulk from their hobby quietly into the inky night, Honigman and Lilija have made this year’s Manor bigger and better than ever before, with the frights extending into more rooms and even onto the back deck.
“We’re using every square inch of space,” said Lilija, who admitted the last call for Anmore Manor comes with some melancholy.
“I think we’ll shed a tear,” she said.
But like seemingly every horror movie ever made, Lilija doesn’t discount the possibility of a sequel.
“It will be nice to have a break,” she said. “We both love Halloween.”
Anmore Manor is located at 1151 Robin Way in Anmore. It will be open:
- Oct. 25, 7 to 10:45 p.m.
- Oct. 26, 7 to 10:45 p.m.
- Oct. 27, 7 to 10:30 p.m.
- Oct. 31, 7 to 10 p.m.
Admission is a $15 cash donation to the SHARE food bank.
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